Leon Bibb speaks with author of new book on former Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman

In Major League Baseball, the game is played with a ball clean and white, free of cracks and blemishes, as clean as it came from the manufacturer. If it hits the ground, a new one is tossed in.
But it has not always been that way. Many decades ago, a major league ball could be ragged, scarred, and grimy.
It was that description of a baseball which led to a player's death, and it involved a Cleveland baseballer. More on that in a moment, but first, let's meet Scott Longert, a Cleveland baseball historian in love with the game.
The story he cannot let go of, and for good reason, is that of Cleveland Indians player Ray Chapman, who is the only major leaguer to die as a direct result of the game.
"He was regarded in his time as the best shortstop in the game," Longert said as we met up at League Park, which the ballclub called home until 1946.
It was 1920, and Cleveland was playing the Yankees at the Polo Grounds in New York.
"We had three games with the Yankees, and we'd been battling them on and off for first place," Longert explained, setting the scene. "It was overcast, drizzling a little bit. Wasn't the best day to play baseball, but still they had a big crowd - about 25,000 people at the Polo Grounds. And during the game, it got dark, or visibility wasn't good." scene.
Facing Chapman at bat, Yankees pitcher Carl Mays was on the mound.
Leon Bibb reports: www.wkyc.com/article/opinion/...